Tales of the Manor
by Inu Taiyoukai
Summary: In the harsh, unforgiving Zao Desert, size doesn't always matter. Just ask the Kimlascans, a mob of mismatched meerkats, always in competition with their neighbors, the Rokujinshou and the Rugnicans. Will they survive? Find out...on Tales of the Manor.


Okay, so I like Meerkat Manor, and I read Akatsuki Manor...then I wondered what it would be like if I personified the meerkats more in a crossover of my own.

Tell me what you think. Should I do it like this, or make it so that they can't communicate so openly? Either way would be easy for me, I just prefer it this way, since narration is fine for the show, but awkward for a fanfic.

* * *

_**Meet the Kimlascans. **_

_**Susanne, the kind leader of the group. **_

_**Duke Fabre, her dedicated partner.**_

_**Nephry, the kind babysitter and caretaker.**_

_**Jade, the crafty schemer.**_

_**And of course, the playful kids. **_

_**There's also Dist, a troublemaking rover.**_

_**And the rival gang, the Rokujinshou.**_

_**This…is Tales of the Manor.**_

_**Prologue**_  
In a remote area of the Zao Desert, the plains are home to many families…but not human families. This is home to several meerkat mobs that take what they can on the dry plains. One specific family, the Kimlascans, have been under a ten year study jointly by Sheridan and Belkend. They were a relatively new family, but they grew quickly. At first, they were comprised mostly of unrelated meerkats, but now, pups have grown up and so has the family. Ties within the group are strong, even between unrelated meerkats. And it's a good thing that's so, because with the Rokujinshou constantly baring down on them for more territory, the Kimlascans can't afford to be divided.

_**Ch. 1: Troubles on the Manor**_

_It's early morning, and Susanne is already up and about. She spent the night giving birth to three pups. It's not a typical litter size for her since she never was very healthy to begin with, so this is a very good birthing.  
_

Susanne let the sun warm her substantially thinner body. Duke Fabre soon joined her, light reflecting off his radio collar as he took his place next to his mate.  
"The pups are beautiful," he said quietly, the red streak of fur above his head which matched Susanne's shifting in the breeze.  
"Yes, two blondes and a white-hair. Quite rare indeed," Susanne said conversationally. "It must be a good omen."

"Either that, or you were with a different male."

They both smiled softly. That certainly wasn't the case, though the children that came were surprisingly fair of fur color. They had been christened with their names already. Gailardia was the blonde male, Mary was the blonde female, and Frings was the white-hair.

Within a few minutes, Jade and Teodoro joined the dominants in their sunbathing.

"Good day," the younger of the two replied, a casual, meerkat-ish grin on his features. He moved forward to delicately groom Susanne, which Duke Fabre disdained. Of all the group, he disliked Jade the most, and simply looked for a reason to evict him. Susanne, however, seemed to find no fault in the chestnut-colored meerkat's grooming.

"Shouldn't you be cleaning up?" the Duke asked haughtily, flashing his long, pearly white teeth. Jade pulled away from the dominant female's neck and ran a paw across his face.  
"Right you are, Duke. Allow me."

Susanne looked up at her mate.

"Dear, it really isn't kind to admonish him that way. It was only a little grooming…"

"Yes, but you have to remember that he's not of this family."

Susanne sighed.

"The Sylvanans were ravaged by the Rokujinshou, you know that," she reminded her mate. "He came to us half-dead and we didn't accept him for half a week. The fact that he survived his wounds and does hi s part in our family should be enough for you."

The Duke sighed. He supposed it was enough that his mate trusted Jade. He shot a glance at the meerkat with his piercing emerald eyes.

Jade was aware of the Duke watching him as he cleared the entrance out with his shovel-like claws. It was taxing work with just him, but his sister had not surfaced yet, and Teodoro was still gathering his strength. The old meerkat had come from a different family than Jade had. Since the Kimlascans were really the last survivors of another family of meerkats attacked by rivals—the Vaticans—they could use all the strength they could muster. The last remaining Yulians and Sylvanans had banded together with the newly established Kimlascans some time ago.

But Teodoro was not doing well. He'd managed to take his grandpup Tear from the carnage, but he'd received a slash across the flank that had steadily become infected. He could no longer lower his left leg to take weight, lest it buckle. Even so, he hobbled over to Jade and attempted to assist in the morning duties.

As the burrow entrance was cleared—no thanks to the dominants because of the Duke's apprehension—the sound of squeaking pups was heard. A blonde furred female lifted her head from the burrow. Dark black circles—more dark than most meerkats boasted—surrounded her red eyes, much like Jade's own.

"Good morning, Nephry," Jade panted, shifting some dirt aside. "How are the pups?"

The female nodded to her brother, then turned an eye to Susanne.

"I've fed them," she said. "All four."

Duke Fabre nodded towards her.

"Thank you," he responded. "Might I intrude upon you and your brother's kindness a bit longer so that you might babysit while we forage?"

The two meerkats nodded, although they had misgivings about allowing Teodoro to forage. Apparently so did he.

"If you don't mind," the weak meerkat said hoarsely. "I'd like to stay here as well. I fear I must gather my strength…"

"Yes, please gather your strength," Susanne told him softly. "But you may forage around the burrow if you can. Food will also help."

Teodoro nodded, then sat back on his haunches, bowing his head low against the sand. Jade and Nephry flanked him, both grooming his fur in quick little bites. While the former Yulian was very thankful for the attention of his family, he couldn't lift his head. The dominants left to go forage, casting somber looks at Teodoro until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Dear, do you suppose Teodoro will survive? He looks extremely unwell," Susanne said worriedly. 

"Because he is. I've seen this before," the Duke replied. "His wound has been struck with infection, and there is little chance of his survival ."

The female sighed as she dug in the sand for food. They were a group of five adults, with four pups. Something had to be done, or else they would not survive. And now they were a group of four adults, or would be soon.

"We cannot afford to evict anyone," she said plainly. "Not one."

* * *

"Teodoro, I've gotten you a millipede." 

In the Zao Desert, millipedes were a delicacy, and Jade had been off his food intake because of his forced responsibilities to the Kimlascans, but he still offered the food to the elder. Logic confounded him in that he needed to keep a family member alive, but this was certainly a waste of food if Teodoro would die. Even so, he chose this move.

Nephry noted that her brother was attempting to be kind and she appreciated it. He certainly wasn't kind and submissive by nature, and here he had even rubbed the millipede's nasty secretions off for Teodoro.

"Thank you," the old one said, eating the insect slowly and laboriously. He was too weak to ingest the entire thing.

"Alright then, Nephry. You take it. You have to allolactate for the pups," Jade ordered. Nephry gave him a look.

"You aren't the dominant. Don't order me around. Besides, you've been on babysitting duty for five days straight. You eat it."

"I don't feed Tear, and now the day-olds," he said flatly. "I'm not trying to be a dominant. You know how well that worked out. I'll forage around the burrow in a moment."

Nephry didn't like the thought of eating Jade's millipede, especially not with his apparent weight loss. But he was right, she needed to allolactate for the pups while Susanne was gone. Already Tear was pushing up against her, begging for nourishment.

"Duke Fabre is pushing you too hard," she said with a sigh. "He doesn't trust you."

Jade sat down next to Nephry and groomed her neck lightly. For her, his grooming was genuine, not a kiss-up act.

"Of course he doesn't trust me," he breathed against her fur as he multitasked grooming and communication. "I'm the second-most able bodied male in the group, and I am not related to Susanne. I could take his position. But I don't wish to."

He paused in his grooming.

"Shall we make a wager on whether he'll bite the base of my tail later?"

* * *

Hehe. Who says Duke Fabre will bite the base of his tail? Bets, anyone? I already have it planned...Lol. R & R, please. 


End file.
